Thursday, July 20, 2017

Since I bombarded you with heat on Tuesday, why not enjoy a cooling, refreshing dessert to tame the fire?

I actually made this flavour of frozen treat for my grade 7s and 8s on request. While Nanaimo bars might be one of the most quintessentially Canadian desserts out there, there were two students who had never had one - and the class decided that we had to remedy that situation! Since the younger set was able to enjoy their Confetti Cake Frozen Yoghurt in class and neither time nor equipment was really on our side to make the real deal (or a nut-free version, anyway), I decided that the best, and "Summeriest", thing to do would be to make a frozen yoghurt packed with all the flavours you'd find in a bar.

For those of you unfamiliar with the delicious dessert, Nanaimo bars are basically a three-layered dessert. On the bottom, you'll find a mixture of graham crackers, sugar, cocoa, coconut, (usually) walnuts or almonds and butter that bakes into a firm, textured and sweet crust. That's where the oven requirement ends, though. The second layer is a sweet vanilla custard (traditionally made with the very British Bird's Custard Powder), which chills while a bittersweet chocolate ganache is made and eventually poured into a glorious sheet of deliciousness on top. Then you have to wait again for everything to set up - ideally overnight. See why it would be a little bit of an issue in my 45-minute class period?

However, sticking the basic elements into a frozen yoghurt couldn't have been easier. I used the same tofu-yoghurt-cream base as the Confetti Cake frozen yoghurt, adding extra custard powder, corn syrup and sugar to make up for the lack of cake mix. As it churned, in went the "crust" ingredients - graham cracker crumbs, shredded coconut and (in place of ganache) bittersweet chocolate sprinkles that I had found in a little European deli by my house. The mixture passed the "taste test" by my mom (a bona fide Nanaimo bar lover) and I packed it up for school.

I have never - and I mean never - seen anything in Home Ec disappear that fast. After seconds, thirds and fourths (!), some kids took home the scant leftovers to much acclaim by their parents. It's a good thing we did this at the end of the school year, since I have a feeling I might have been asked to make it a few more times by both young and old!Nanaimo Bar Frozen YoghurtMakes ~2 quarts, 10 servings1 (10 oz) package firm silken tofu3 cups whole-milk plain or vanilla yoghurt½ cup heavy cream1 tbsp vanilla¾ cup sugar¼ cup corn syrup¼ cup vanilla custard powder¾ tsp kosher salt3 tbsp shredded coconut (sweetened or non)3 tbsp graham cracker crumbs¼ cup chocolate sprinkles (love these ones)